Hans
J. Barschel attended the Municipal Art School of Berlin and studied
poster design at the State Academy of Art. Among the many professors
he studied with was the designer George Salter. He In 1935 he opened
his own studio and worked on several commissions for the German
Government Railways, exhibits for the 1936 Olympic Games as well
as poster designs, book jackets and window displays for several
other commercial and industrial organizations. He emigrated to the
United States in 1937. Once in the US he established himself in
New York city with such clients as Standard Oil, Fortune magazine,
Town and Country, Steel Horizons as well as designing book jackets
for several publishers. He also designed several ads for a pharmeceutical
firm before becoming art director of a publication put out by the
Health Department of New York. He moved to Rochester, New York in
the 1950’s and worked as a public relations person as well as doing
work for Ciba. He taught for several years at Rochester Institute
of Technology beginning in 1954 and was instrumental in moving the
art and design program towards a modernist curriculum. Barschel’s
work is included in collections at the Museum of Modern Art as well
as at the New York Public Library and the Library of Congress.